# CAMRA Reading Real Ale Festival 2006



## Lumpold (Apr 28, 2005)

Well, I just returned fromt he CAMRA Reading Real Ale Festival 2006. While I certainly didn't try EVERY beer, cider and perry, I did try a few.

Beowulf's Dragon Smoke Stout
4.7%abv - Nice stout, smooth, a nice sweet initial hit, followed by a smoky, bitter finish.

Boggart Clough Hole's Waterloo Sunset Porter
5.0%abv a smooth, 'mocha' porter.

Ceredington's Yr Hen Darw Du (The Old Black Bull)
6.2%abv Yeah! Stout that's IN YER FACE!

Custom's Honey Roast Porter
5.5%abv Honey is added to give this porter a sweet, smooth, velvet like finish.

Dark Star's Espresso Stout
4.2%abv Oh my lord! This stout is absolutely awesome. More, gimme more!

Arkell's Moonlight Ale
5.0%abv Brewed to celebrate the 80th birthday of the Brewey's owner, this is a light, summer ale, with a good citrus aroma. 

Mr Whitehead's Newton's Discovery
3.8% Standard, sweet cider, refrshing... this is gonna be my summer drink if I can find it anywhere/get it in at my pub.

Mr Whitehead's Heart of Hampshire
6.0% This is a medium, session ender cider. Strong, but tastes just like cider should... apples.

Mr Whitehead's Strong Dry Cider
7.5% This is Mr Whitehead's strongest cider. From the cask, this is a nice dry, dry cider, with enough clout to make you sit up and beg for more. From the bottle it was somewhat sweeter, and still very nice!

The Lambourn Cider Company's Perry
7.0% Mmmmmmmmmm Perry.... awesome, sharp and dry, with a sweet aftertaste.

The Oakleaf Brewing Company's Hole Hearted
4.7% A lovely, fruity, light ale.

All these and several more that didn't set off any must drink lot's more bells... these one's hit the spot though.


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## D. Generate (Jul 1, 2004)

I'm envious. :dr


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## Jeff (Jan 2, 2005)

D. Generate said:


> I'm envious. :dr


:tpd: Sounds like you had a taste extravaganza Lumpy. What were the costs?


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## caskwith (Apr 10, 2006)

You lucky bastard!

i have to make do with the CAMRA plymouth real ale festival, its about 10th the size but atleast i dont have far to get home :al  

anyway westcountry cider and beer is far superior to anything Kent (bah) can offer.

the only thing i do miss is that you cant buy bags of hops to munch on while youre drinking.

glad you enjoyed it mate


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## Lumpold (Apr 28, 2005)

Costs were fairly minimal... £2 for my pint glass ('optional returnable deposit') then maximum of £2.40 a pint, most at around £2 or £2.20. Several (8 beers, 2 ciders, one perry) were free because it was a trade session (man, I love my job). Awesome. Had to meet the girlfriend at 5pm, so I was only there for 2 1/2 hours.

Caskwith, if you're in Plymouth, you should head over to Lostwhitel in Cornwall, and check out Keltek Breweries, my uncle's gaff.


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## Corona Gigante-cl (Sep 8, 2005)

Lucky guy.

Last time I was home in England visiting my parents, I took them to the Olde Worlde-est real ale pub I could find (on the internet) for lunch and ordered a pint of the Olde Worlde-est looking hand-pumped beer at the bar. It turned out to be *Jenkins Sneck Lifter*. "A nice pint," as my uncle remarked. It was. And so was the next one.

I need to get home more often.

As for Kentish brews, I enjoyed a lot of *Shepherd Neame's Spitfire Ale* for the short couple of years it was available in the States. One day they just stopped shipping it. Damn. Best brew I can find these days is probably *Black Sheep*.

So enjoy. A good English pub is a cultural treasure on a par with Shakespeare or the Beatles IMHO.


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## t'kay (Jan 30, 2005)

D. Generate said:


> I'm envious. :dr


I wouldn't be too envious of him Dgen, he's just as cold and miserable as you are. Although he is in Europe.. where there are lots of ales. 

Ok, ok! i'm envious too.


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## caskwith (Apr 10, 2006)

the closest thing you can get to a real english ale in america is probably "Old Brown Dog ale" a freind of mine brought me back a couple of bottles when he went to Maryland and i must say it was surprisingly good. It had a very similar texture and flavour to "Theakstons Old Peculiar" ale and it married very well with a cigar. (oh and its much better than Black Sheep, that beer went down hill with the revival of real ales in england).


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## Corona Gigante-cl (Sep 8, 2005)

caskwith said:


> the closest thing you can get to a real english ale in america is probably "Old Brown Dog ale" a freind of mine brought me back a couple of bottles when he went to Maryland and i must say it was surprisingly good. It had a very similar texture and flavour to "Theakstons Old Peculiar" ale and it married very well with a cigar. (oh and its much better than Black Sheep, that beer went down hill with the revival of real ales in england).


I've not seen *Old Brown Dog* ale (brewed in Portsmouth, N.H.) available locally (Houston, TX). Unfortunately, very few micro-breweries ship outside of their immediate region and Texas complicated and irrational licensing laws makes the beer fancier's life much more difficult than it really needs to be.

There seems to be a much stroger interest in good beer on the left and right coasts than on the bottom coast. My good friend and beer afficionado Bob especially recommends the *Middle Ages Brewing Company, of Syracuse, New York's Druid Fluid* but I think that's at least partially because it's so much fun to say. We have a fairly well-regarded local micro-brewery, *St Arnold's*, but they don't have anything comparable to a good English special bitter ale.

Which *Black Sheep* do you mean? I'm referring to the one brewed in Masham, N Yorks, by Paul Theakston. They also brew *Monty Python's Holy Grail*, another reasonable locally available alternative. The brewery has only been around for 11 years.


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## caskwith (Apr 10, 2006)

Corona Gigante said:


> Which *Black Sheep* do you mean? I'm referring to the one brewed in Masham, N Yorks, by Paul Theakston. They also brew *Monty Python's Holy Grail*, another reasonable locally available alternative. The brewery has only been around for 11 years.


thats the black sheep im on about, the first few batches that he produced were very good however with a growing demand for real ales in supermarkets the quality has been comprmised, the last few bottles i had of black sheep were not very nice at all. they were all bought from different shops at different times but they all tasted the same, and they were all bad. Old Peculiar doesnt seem to have changed yet but then it isnt such a popular beer. it might take a while for this to filter through to the US but be prepared for a change.


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## Corona Gigante-cl (Sep 8, 2005)

caskwith said:


> thats the black sheep im on about


Ah. Damn. Another one bites the dust.

Old Peculiar is a S&N brew now though isn't it? At least with the big boys you're guaranteed consistency.


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## Lumpold (Apr 28, 2005)

yes, consistently awful.

The Riggwelter from Black Sheep is a nice hearty brew.

I believe Hobgoblin Strong Dark (English) Ale is pretty common in the US, and I'm quite fond of that.


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## caskwith (Apr 10, 2006)

Lumpold said:


> The Riggwelter from Black Sheep is a nice hearty brew.
> 
> I believe Hobgoblin Strong Dark (English) Ale is pretty common in the US, and I'm quite fond of that.


Riggwelter is a favourite when im the area and Hobgoblin is also an excellent pint, had one last night as a matter of fact, also got a bottle of Whirlygig which ive heard is good.


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